Initial reactions to GOS reading: I think that schools need to change, but how is that possible? How can we reconstruct an entire system into something that caters to individual students needs and helps kids become deep learners? Maybe if we did away with standardized testing. I really hate that stuff. It is so asinine to base a student's intelligence off of a score. It's such crap. I guess if I had done better on standardized tests I wouldn't be saying this. I was thinking while reading this, "Have any of my teachers ever asked me if I was interested in what I was learning?" well, that's not really what I mean. What do I mean? I guess I'm just trying to see which of my teachers was not playing the game. I know Miss Conrad, my fabulous A.P. English teacher was working magic, because I never wanted to leave class, ever. I cried on the last day. I would take that class every year if I could. It was so much fun to analyze things with my classmates, to hear their opinions about things, to make jokes. And most everyone came prepared to class, so that made it even better. When someone didn't it was obvious, and I would think, why? Why would you not do the reading? I know their are extenuating circumstances and two sides to every story, but I would have felt crappy if I couldn't contribute to the class discussion, or be in the loop of what people were talking about. That is why I always do my work. I want to be an active member of my classes, and if you don't do the work, you can't be. I don't necessarily think that's playing the game. I guess I want credit for the work I do, but I don't like to think I do it for the grade. I'm not just doing it to get by. I can't call myself a saint though. There have been classes that I plugged and chugged my way to a pass. That was mostly because I didn't understand the material and was too scared to ask for help, or thought it would be too much effort to actually figure things out. Like if I asked my teachers for help I was 1) stupid, and 2) they might not be able to help me understand, and then where would I be? All of these thoughts are probably not uncommon. I don't know if I agree with the whole "Some kids don't participate because it's not cool" thing. Who would do that? Who cares what other people think? I know we all do. But does that really dictate whether or not you ask a question, or voice your opinion? It must for some people. That is really sad. Really sad. I think the idea of looking at student's individually is really rad. It actually makes me excited. Even those kids who get bad grades, or don't come to school, and act out, deep down, they have the ability and desire to learn. If only a teacher could take special interest in them, ask them what they want to learn and help them learn it. Like we read in that excerpt What The Best College Students Do, if you have something that really interests you, then you will be successful. If you find that one thing and focus on it, you have something. Maybe that would inspire kids to want to come to school and learn more things. That would be something to see. I know a lot of students think that nobody cares, and it's all a joke. And the way some people behave, it is. It's all just the game. But it doesn't have to be like that. You can really learn things if you want to.
What has to be done? What is the next step? That is so often my question. But the answer is never that simple. I don't know how to fix the game problem. It would probably involve some big overhaul of the system, which would cost time and money, which nobody ever wants. It's not a quick fix. How can it be done?
Initial reactions to GOS reading: I think that schools need to change, but how is that possible? How can we reconstruct an entire system into something that caters to individual students needs and helps kids become deep learners? Maybe if we did away with standardized testing. I really hate that stuff. It is so asinine to base a student's intelligence off of a score. It's such crap. I guess if I had done better on standardized tests I wouldn't be saying this. I was thinking while reading this, "Have any of my teachers ever asked me if I was interested in what I was learning?" well, that's not really what I mean. What do I mean? I guess I'm just trying to see which of my teachers was not playing the game. I know Miss Conrad, my fabulous A.P. English teacher was working magic, because I never wanted to leave class, ever. I cried on the last day. I would take that class every year if I could. It was so much fun to analyze things with my classmates, to hear their opinions about things, to make jokes. And most everyone came prepared to class, so that made it even better. When someone didn't it was obvious, and I would think, why? Why would you not do the reading? I know their are extenuating circumstances and two sides to every story, but I would have felt crappy if I couldn't contribute to the class discussion, or be in the loop of what people were talking about. That is why I always do my work. I want to be an active member of my classes, and if you don't do the work, you can't be. I don't necessarily think that's playing the game. I guess I want credit for the work I do, but I don't like to think I do it for the grade. I'm not just doing it to get by. I can't call myself a saint though. There have been classes that I plugged and chugged my way to a pass. That was mostly because I didn't understand the material and was too scared to ask for help, or thought it would be too much effort to actually figure things out. Like if I asked my teachers for help I was 1) stupid, and 2) they might not be able to help me understand, and then where would I be? All of these thoughts are probably not uncommon. I don't know if I agree with the whole "Some kids don't participate because it's not cool" thing. Who would do that? Who cares what other people think? I know we all do. But does that really dictate whether or not you ask a question, or voice your opinion? It must for some people. That is really sad. Really sad. I think the idea of looking at student's individually is really rad. It actually makes me excited. Even those kids who get bad grades, or don't come to school, and act out, deep down, they have the ability and desire to learn. If only a teacher could take special interest in them, ask them what they want to learn and help them learn it. Like we read in that excerpt What The Best College Students Do, if you have something that really interests you, then you will be successful. If you find that one thing and focus on it, you have something. Maybe that would inspire kids to want to come to school and learn more things. That would be something to see. I know a lot of students think that nobody cares, and it's all a joke. And the way some people behave, it is. It's all just the game. But it doesn't have to be like that. You can really learn things if you want to.
What has to be done? What is the next step? That is so often my question. But the answer is never that simple. I don't know how to fix the game problem. It would probably involve some big overhaul of the system, which would cost time and money, which nobody ever wants. It's not a quick fix. How can it be done?